The plan was to go camping for three days together with Oskar, our recently adopted furry friend, but a misunderstanding with the vet and the ever watchful border control ruined that party.
I arrived pretty late Saturday evening at the Llyn y Fan Fach car park, but right on time to see a beautiful sunset. Welcoming indeed! I didn't have much of a plan, except to try and take it really easy, with UTS coming up next weekend. So I took it very slow and enjoyed the summer weather as much as I could, followed the Beacons Way along Fan Hir to Fan Fraith, after which a more direct route took me back to Llyn y Fan Fawr, where the water was too inviting not to take a swim. After another night on top of Fan Foel, a short but gorgeous walk was completed.
So why do I like the Brecon Beacons so much? They are not as spectacular as Snowdonia further north in Wales. The highest summit, Pen y Fan, is only 886m high, and not that steep either. But there is a sense of timelessness which can easily be felt here, where Pen y Fan and Corn Du keep watch over the other mountains and have seen glaciers come and go. In a world that often moves to fast and seems to be screaming for attention most of the time, it is a great place to visit.
After the walk, I drove to my sister's place, and passed Maen Llia, the standing stone between Fan Nedd and Fan Dringarth. The information sign says the purpose of erecting this stone is not clear, it could have been a place of worship or a boundary, but I like to imagine it is a connection to the past and future and a place to stand still, if even only for a short moment.
After these three days, I stayed at my sister's and family, and went for a day hike at the waterfalls near Ystradfellte. If you're looking for variation, there's plenty to be found here!
